Trend analysis and evaluation of hydrogen energy and hydrogen storage research

Hydrogen energy is a type of energy contained in hydrogen, the most common element in the universe. Hydrogen energy is a clean form of energy used in many other fields apart from powering spacecraft and cars. This study examines the contributions researchers from around the world have made in the field of hydrogen energy and storage over the past 30 years (January 1, 1992-January 1, 2022). A comprehensive bibliometric approach has been applied to illustrate the scientific publications on hydrogen energy and related topics using the Scopus database, which revealed 15 792 publications published by more than 500 authors and organizations scattered over 120 countries. Various aspects of these studies have been analyzed, such as publication type, number of citations, fundamental research areas, and keywords. The article additionally examines the countries, authors, journals, and institutions that have worked in the field of hydrogen energy and storage. Thus, this article presents detailed results from the 18 most influential authors, 20 most influential journals, and 15 most influential institutions in the field of hydrogen energy and storage in terms of publication, citation, publication impact parameters, and h-indexes over the past 30 years and shows the effects of all countries that have published in the field of hydrogen energy and storage in terms of number of publications and citations. As a result of the analysis of all parameters, the most effective journals are shown to be the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Fuel Cells Bulletin, and the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, and the most effective countries are seen to be China, USA, and South Korea. However, Ibrahim Dincer has been identified as the most influential author and to differ in several ways in terms of contributing authors. The results also indicate how important the subject of hydrogen energy is in the field of energy, physics and astronomy, and engineering. As a result, this article presents the trends over the last 30 years and details on future directions.